"I was humbled and excited by the opportunity," said Neal, who was scheduled to fly Wednesday for a Thursday interview. "but as I was preparing (for the interview) it just hit me it's not what I wanted to do. I'm blessed and excited to be at Oregon.

"Something was telling me, 'John, you've got to follow your heart here,' and this is what I've done."

Neal, 57, has been defensive backs coach at Oregon for 11 seasons, working under three head coaches. He was considered a candidate for promotion to defensive coordinator, but the job went to linebackers coach Don Pellum.

Neal coached at UAB for eight seasons from 1995-2003, coaching the defensive backs and serving as the defensive coordinator for his final two seasons. Neal was part of the staff that took the Blazers from non-scholarship program to full FBS.

UAB is looking for a head coach to replace Garrick McGee, who resigned to take the offensive coordinator position at Louisville.